Journal lubricator



Aug. 15, 1950 R. J.,SHANA'HAN ETAL ,518,6 5

JOURNAL LUBRICATOR Filed Sept. 4, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ,Mi/[OYZ 1 62324110 a nm 965% @2345 s- 15, 1950 R. J. SHANAHAN EI'AL 2,518,645

JOURNAL LUBRICATOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 4, 194"! the journal.

gatented Au 15, 1950 1 {JOURNAL LUBRICATOB' I w Richard Le man and M ilton Pattu ib; f

.Wilmette, Ill.

ApplicationSeptember 4,1947, Serial No. 772,094

=Thisinvehtion relates "to journal'lubricators At the present time it is customary to an the journal box with oil-soaked waste, andthus rely 4 upon'the oil contained in such waste for proper lubricationofthe journal. There are many disadvantages attendant-upon the use of such a lubricating means in that threads from the waste may very easily creep between the axle and its bearing; Such a presence of threads is suffic'ient to cause a hot box. I

The use of oil-soaked waste for lubrication in journal boxes is still in current use onrai'l'road cars despite the many efforts in the past to devise effective lubricating means in the form of rollers I rolling in abath of oil and carrying the oil to Such earlier "devices" have proven unsatisfactory either from the standpoint'of ineffective Operation or from the'economical view. Those journal lubricators which may have operated satisfactorily have been expensive toinstall because of the necessity oiusing a special type of journal box. 1 The present invention is designed to overcome these earlier disadvantages, as well as the disadvantages present in lubricators currently in use, "by .the provision of effective lubricating means adapted'to be installed in the conventional or standard A. A. R. journal boxes.

An important object of the present invention is to provide a journal lubricator of the character herein described which is effective for lubricating the journal of railroad cars and which may be installed on the standard journal boxes with which all railroad ears are supplied.

Another object of the invention is to provide a journallubricator to lubricate the'journals of --railroad cars, which includes a roller mounted on a floating axle below the journal and having main and auxiliary resilient oryieldable'means -for urging the roller upwardly against: the journal.

-A further" object of the invention is to pro- I vide arailroad' car journal lubricator which' includes a roller-located ina bath of oilyand yieldable meansfor urging the roller against the "journal. The yieldabler means includes xmore specifically a leaf spring at'each end of the roller, and a pair of coiled compression springs also 10- ;'catedat each-end of the roller, whereby both typeset-springs cooperate-to urgeithe roller upwardly. against the. journal nStillanother object ofiftheiinyentijonlis to pro: v

soiaiins. (discs-+91 -vide a dual form of yieldable supporting means which support a roller. and urge the roller against the. journal of a: railroad car, so that if one ofthe yieldable supporting means isbroken or. becomes fractured for any'reason, then the other yieldablesupport may still functionpfto effectively lubricatethe journal.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a roller for use in lubricating the journal of a railroad car; which: roller is either itself resilient material .over the surface thereof to thereby provide a cushioning efiect'between the roller and the journal which isi lubricated by it. Still another'object is to provide a roller of a semi-resilient composition, which rollerv has: in its outer surfaces. seriesof spiral grooves which actto carry the oil from the oil bath in which the roller is located and distribute the oil over the journal. v

Still another and .more specific object ,is' to provide a journal lubricator of the character described herein wherein a roller is provided with a cover of a resilient material, the resilient material and the roller having aligned radial openings therethrough to aid in distributing oil over the journal-due to the action? of centrifugal -force.;

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent upon reading the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view through a 1 standard journal .box showing the journal and roller in elevation;

. Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional View taken substantially along the plane of line 2- 2 of,Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an end elevational view of the journal box with parts broken away and shown in section;

and. t-

.Fig. 4 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken substantially along the plane oi-jline 4--4 Referring nowmore particularly to the drawings, there is'illustrated a portion of the axle l of a railroad car which has the journal 2 at :its end extending into the journal box, generally in- -.dicated at 3. The journalbox'shown is of, the conventional and standard type having at'its -inner end-the spaced partitions 4 and 5 with aligned L openingsfi therethrough to receive thecar axle I. Adust 'guard'il of any suitable constructionsurrounds the axle andhasits peripheral edges ex- "mtending intothe space between the partitions 4 andi. f I 5;:

' bodies a roller III which is preferably of a tubular construction, mounted on an axle I l and adapted to rotateon the bearings l2. In the form of the invention shown herein, the roller It has a covering l3 of a composition material which is both light weight and semi-resilient to thereby form a cushion between the roller [8 and the journal 2.

If desired, the entire roller may be formed of this semi-resilient material. The material used is preierably'oil, heat, and wear-resistant and the composition which has been found to be most successful thus'far in actual practice is a synthetic rubber composition.

The roller l and covering I3 have a plurality of aligned radial openings therein for th purpose of distributing oil over the surface of the journal by means" of centrifugal force, the'oil being thus distributed from the inside of the roller l0. To further aid in evenly distributing the oil over the surface of the journal, the covering I3 is provided with aplurality of spiral grooves l5 adapted to pick up the oil from the bath in the bottom of the journal box and carry it upwardly for distribution over the journal.

Another and important feature of the invention lies in the means for mounting the roller so that it is constantly maintained in contact with the underside of the journal. provided for this purpose in the form of a leaf spring l8 located one at each end of the roller I 8. The form and construction of the leaf spring i6 is an important consideration to the effective functioning of the lubricator. The leak spring is continuous and has one end I1 thereof extending in a substantially horizontal plane'in alignment with the end of the axle I I. This end of the leaf spring is then curved as at l8 topartially surround the end of the axle [I and then terminates ina short horizontal portion I9. The other end 28 of the spring It also extends toward the end of the axle II, is curved upwardlyas at -2l to partially surround the other side of the axle II and then terminates in a short horizontal portion 22. The terminal portion 22 abuts against the part 11, and the terminal portion l9 abuts upwardly against the horizontal part of the spring l6. Bolts 23 then secure the two ends in place as shown in Fig. 3.

Each of the ends of the leaf spring I6 is then curved downwardly and inwardly as at 24 and is connected by an integral intermediate section 25. The intermediate section 25 preferably bears downwardly against the upper fiat surface of an elongated supporting bar 28 which, in turn, is

fastened to the bottom of the journal box by means of the bolts 21. It will be noted that the Resilient means are holes through which the bolts 21 pass ar the only modification which. need be made in the standard journal box.

The leaf spring just described is the main yieldably holds the roller I8 upwa;dly against the journal 2. The form of this leaf spring is such that it will hold the oily roller in place against the journal at all times,'even during impact of the axle against it due' to shock, which occurs during the coupling and uncoupling of cars, and

particularly freight cars. It will be noted that V able means which supports the'axle I l and yieldthe roller will be held against the journal regardless of the direction of impact of the axle against the roller due to the novel construction thereof.

Auxiliary springs in the form of coiled compression springs 28 are also utilized in conjunction with the leaf springs It to aid in urging the roller upwardly against the journah It is preferred that two of the coiled compression springs 28 be located at each endfiof the roller and are so positioned as to bear upwardly at their upper ends against the terminal portions of the leaf spring I and downwardly at their lower ends against the horizontal intermediate portion 25 of the leaf spring. The provision of these coiled springs is an important consideration from the standpoint of safety. The shock of coupling and uncoupling railroad cars may be great enough to fracture the leaf spring I. If this occurs, then the coiled compression springs 28 are still sufficiently strong to maintain the oily roller in contact with the journal so that proper lubrication will be continued andthus prevent the occurrence of a hot box;

In actual practice and under ordinary conditions the leaf spring It will function properly without breaking, but in the shock of coupling and uncoupling, the axle housing may be forced to one side or the other, or it may move upwardly as much as H of an inch with respect to the axle. It is under such conditions as this that the leaf spring may fail, but under the provisions of the present invention proper lubricationmay still be obtained due to the presence of the coiled springs 28.

It has been found that the combination and cooperation of the two types of springs at each end of the roller, together with the composition covering over the roller, the radial holes and spiral grooves, all contribute materially to the effective operation of the journal lubricator of the present invention. This lubricator has been found to be efficient in use and is extremely economical to install because of its ability to be used in the standard journal boxes now in use merely by boring two holes in the bottom of the journal box.

Changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of parts from that disclosed herein without in anyway departing from the spirit of the invention or sacrificing any of the attendant advantages thereof, provided, however, that such changes fall within the scope of the claims appended hereto.

The invention is hereby claimed as follows:

1. A journal lubricator adapted for use in the standard journal boxes of railroad cars, comprising a tubular roller mounted for rotation on a horizontal axle below the journal, a resilient covering over the surface of said roller to form a cushion between the roller and the journal, said covering having a plurality of radially disposed openings therethrough, a like plurality of radial openings in said roller in alignment with the openings in said resilient covering, whereby oil within said roller will be thrown outwardly against the journal by centrifugal force, a leaf spring at each end of said roller, each of said springs having overlapping ends secured to the axle of said roller and having a portion bearing downwardly against the bottom of the journal box, a pair of vertically disposed auxiliary coiled compression springs at each end of said roller secured at their upper ends to the leaf spring with which they are associated and also bearing downwardly against the bottom of the journal box, whereby both the leaf springs and the coiled springs cooperate to urge said'roller upwardly against the underside of the journal, and a plurality of spiral grooves in the surface of said resilient covering to more effectively distribute and carry oil to the journal.

2. A journal lubricator adapted for use in the standard journal boxes of railroad cars, comprising a roller mounted for rotation on a horizontal axle below the journal, a resilient covering over said roller to form a cushion between the roller and the journal, a continuous leaf spring at each end of said roller, each of said springs having overlapping ends surrounding the axle of said roller and secured together, a portion of said spring also bearing downwardly against the bottom of the journal box, a pair of vertically disposed auxiliary coiled compression springs at each end of said roller secured at their upper ends to the leaf spring with which they are associated and bearing downwardly against the bottom of the journal box, whereby both the leaf springs and the coiled springs cooperate to urge said roller upwardly against the underside of the journal, and a plurality of spiral grooves in the surface of said resilient covering to more effectively distribute and carry oil to the journal.

3. A journal lubricator adapted for use in the standard journal boxes of railroad cars, comprising a roller mounted for rotation on a hori-' zontal axle below the journal, a resilient covering over said roller to form av cushion between the roller and the journal, a leaf spring at each end of said roller secured to the axle of said roller and bearing downwardly against the bottom of the journal box, and a pair of vertically disposed auxiliary coiled compression springs at each end of said roller secured at their upper ends to the leaf spring with which they are associated and bearing downwardly against the bottom of the journal box, whereby both the leaf springs and the coiled springs cooperate to urge said roller 6 upwardly against the underside of the journal and distribute oil thereto.

4. A journal lubricator adapted for use in the standard journal boxes of railroad cars, comprising a roller mounted for rotation on a horizontal floating axle below the journal, a leaf spring at each end of said roller secured to the axle of the roller and bearing downwardly against the bottom of the journal box to thereby urge said roller upwardly against the journal, each of said leaf springs including end portions extending toward each other and passing around opposite sides of said axle, and auxiliary spring means cooperating with said leaf springs for also urging said roller upwardly against the journal.

5. A journal lubricator adapted for use in the standard journal boxes of railroad cars, comprising a roller mounted for rotation on a horizontal floating axle below the journal, a leaf spring at each end of said roller secured at its ends to said axle and curving downwardly to bear intermediate its ends against the bottom of the journal box, and a pair of auxiliary coiled compression springs at each end of said roller secured at their upper ends to the leaf spring with which they are associated and bearing at their lower ends against the intermediate portion of the leaf spring, whereby both springs cooperate to urge said roller upwardly against the journal.

RICHARD J. SHANAHAN. MILTON D. PAI'I'ULLO.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

